Half a day later…
"…Why the hell am I here?" A man with a strange body that was hard to call human muttered to himself.
"…They really are all the royal families from the allied countries of the World Government."
He was currently looking at his audience through a camera snail on a screen.
"Heh, if I kidnapped any person from the thousands of people here, the ransom money wouldn't be in millions. It'd be in billions with a B!"
The man from the Longarm Tribe cackled to himself, lost in his delusions.
But only a moment later…
"Scratch that. If I do that at 'that' man's coronation ceremony, he himself would undoubtedly hunt me down just to save face."
"Hmm~ No, he would send Kizaru after me again…"
"Sigh—!!!" A member of the Worst Generation, Scratchmen Apoo, sighed loudly in the waiting room.
A few days ago, he had been kidnapped from Wano Country by none other than Kizaru himself.
He almost peed himself remembering the trauma Kizaru had implanted in the Worst Generation two years ago at Sabaody Archipelago.
When he fell unconscious and got captured in less than a minute from a single kick from Kizaru, he thought his life was over. But…
When he woke up, a woman who introduced herself as the secretary of the dictator explained his fate with a proud smile…
"'That man values your musical talent. Perform for one concert and we'll pardon you once.' That was what she said, but… what other choice do I have?"
Despite cursing his fate… he was feeling a bit good about himself. His musical talent had been acknowledged by a man with the highest authority in the world, and he would survive because of it. As for the credibility of the promise… he didn't doubt it at all.
'Would a man of his status lie to a small-timer pirate like me? Even if they said they would put me in Impel Down instead of killing me, I'd have performed willingly.'
"Also… the concert script is rather interesting. As a musician, I want to be part of it."
Knock-! Knock-!
"Mr. Apoo, the concert will start soon. Please prepare your instruments."
"Okay~"
The concert staff and Apoo got along well. It was for a strange reason, but… Shun and Imu's monstrous fight the other day had made viewers all around the world feel a strange camaraderie. It was the weak's instinct to huddle up against predators.
——
"It's going well without a problem." Kalifa was acting as the head of staff for the 'concert' that Shun had told them to prepare, then proceeded to disappear without a word.
"But they are indeed talented…" The singer Shun had told Kalifa and Hibari to prepare was a girl named Carina.
"We had a problem searching for a singer named Catarina…" Hibari smiled awkwardly.
"…He doesn't even remember the names of people he has no interest in." Kalifa sighed as Carina sang while Apoo, wearing a fox mask, played the instruments all by himself. Piano, guitar, drums… he was a man with a strange Devil Fruit that could turn his body parts into musical instruments.
"The guests seem to be enjoying themselves."
"Yeah…" Kalifa agreed, but she knew the script Shun had given them. And following that script… soon Shun's part would come. As for Shun's part in the script… it was just 'I'll think of something on the spot.'
"Thank you everyone~"
Meanwhile, on the grand stage in Mariejois that was usually used for the slave colosseum, Carina was having the time of her life.
The arena Shun chose for the concert, aka the coronation ceremony, was the slave colosseum. The easiest way to describe it was that it was a bigger and more luxurious version of Dressrosa's colosseum.
Considering the fact that all the guests were from royal families and the lowest-ranking people here were the royal guards… it was a fitting arena.
Also, the whole event was being globally broadcast by Morgans and his trusted crew.
'I'll be a world-class star from now!' Carina thought with a wide smile on her face. She had been singing for nearly an hour on stage.
Her dream kept changing rapidly. At first she wanted to steal the Gran Tesoro. Then it changed to seducing Shun and abusing his power for her benefit, but unfortunately for her, Shun didn't show any interest. Finally, now her dream had changed to becoming a world-class star allied with the new World Government and its leader.
"Then… next is what everyone has been waiting for!! It's time for our hero, who saved the world from the devil and its companions!" Carina announced with her mic.
"OHHHH—!!"
Clap. Clap.
Despite the crowd having second thoughts about the description of Shun, no one dared to slack off on the cheering. After all, there were camera snails everywhere recording them. If they didn't cheer, they'd be in trouble later.
In this sense, Shun was really a dictator.
Click-!
With a loud sound… a single man with a mask appeared on the stage.
It made everyone's heart skip, but soon they calmed down. It was just the mysterious and talented musician from earlier.
Tss-!
Thud-!
Thud-!
The instrumentalist started with the piano, then the guitar, and finally the drums.
"…What is this rhythm…?"
"It's as if we are about to face an inevitable doom…"
Shun's rebellion team from about a week ago was 'guarding' the arena. At least they said so on the surface, but they were just interested in watching it live. After all, what crazy people would attack the Holy Land after the intense fight that decided the King of the World?
"It's the drum…" Kizaru muttered. He was the only one who had seen Shun's script, due to his role in kidnapping Apoo with his light speed.
"…Drum?" Garp asked as he ate rice crackers with Sengoku and his pet goat.
"Yeah… he said it's a piece he created. Its name is… Drum of Oppression."
"…"
"He really is a man who overworks the ones below him~" Kizaru sighed. The reason he acted so slow and lazy was to avoid doing work outside his schedule.
"Maybe I should consider retiring~"
"…"
Akainu felt a headache hearing this. He had just become the Fleet Admiral, but he was already going to lose one of his admirals?
Swoosh-!
"!!!"
The strong ones instantly sensed it… Shun had appeared in the center of the stage with an explosion of blood.
But despite his appearance, the drum didn't end. Perhaps it was part of the script.
"Huh? Was his hair always like this?" Garp muttered.
"…"
Today's Shun had a shoulder-length, wet-look black curly hairstyle styled into a loose ponytail with face-framing strands.
An easier way to describe his hairstyle was… it was Kibutsuji Muzan's hairstyle, just with white coloring.
He wore a custom black regimental-style military costume heavily adorned with shiny gold metallic straps.
Lastly he had a dark sun glasses on.
"…I thought he had changed a bit with his current position, but… I was naive." Sengoku rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, but… everyone knew he was the happiest man today.
A man who had never gambled and lived with discipline had placed the first and biggest bet of his life… and he won.
"Hey… it's been a minute or so… why is he not moving?" Aokiji's words brought the delighted old man back to reality.
"Huh?"
"He's right~ He has been standing still without moving…"
"What is this brat plotting again…" Sengoku sighed, but without much worry.
The worst that could happen in life had already passed. Nowadays, he and Garp were the freest men on the sea.
Sengoku even considered confessing to Tsuru, despite losing her once during his youth because he prioritized his career as a Marine. Now he had plenty of time… thanks to Shun's gift to them.
'Pure gold… the effect is even better than the myths told.'
Meanwhile, after a total of 90 seconds of standing still… the intense Drum of Oppression had finally ended.
"…"
Everyone's tension and nervousness peaked as they waited patiently for Shun to speak.
"I don't want to sound rude, but… doesn't his charm increase by tenfold if he just hides his eyes?" Kalifa muttered to her little team of treasure hunters from the morning.
"…"
The other three didn't want to talk behind Shun's back, but… they couldn't help but agree.
Once the silence settled over the entire colosseum, Shun finally spoke.
"…Oopa, take care of the music."
"…Huh?" Apoo heard everything but didn't understand for a moment until…
'Hey, hey. Try a little harder in making a nickname for me…' Apoo thought, but nodded anyway as Shun handed him the music sheet.
The next moment, with dramatic lighting effects made by Shun's illusion magic that he had learned the basics of from Mavis…
The whole colosseum turned into a fairy tale. Dragons and unicorns and all kinds of unique animals from myths danced around while 'Shun' 'sang.'
"What about sunrise?
What about rain?
What about all the things
That you said we were to gain?"
"…"
Shun's unexpected angelic voice caught everyone off guard as the illusion magic kept changing.
From the harmonious one at the start to one filled with wars and gunshots.
When Shun's singing neared its end, Shun alone was ending wars as he brought peace to the world.
"…"
"Didn't expect the brat to be this good at singing…" Garp muttered with shock.
Everyone among the Navy group that was supposedly guarding the venue was sharing the exact same thoughts as Garp… except Sengoku.
'He's tricking everyone with an unknown Devil Fruit…' Sengoku thought, but shook his head.
'Even that brat wouldn't go that far…'
"Yeah…" Eventually Sengoku stopped thinking and clapped along with the others.
Meanwhile on the stage, Shun started speaking formally once his song finished.
The talk wasn't anything important, just how he was taking the throne and handing over his position to Akainu, who had killed the most Celestial Dragons in the previous war.
Despite knowing the performance earlier was just an act to create a positive image of Shun, everyone in the crowd couldn't help but look at him in a different light.
Such was the strength of music.
Not to mention, his eyes that always had a dead and mean look were blocked by sunglasses today.
——
"Good work~" Kalifa and the other three from the treasure hunting earlier came over with a towel and a drink as Shun's part in the concert ended, though the concert itself wasn't finished at all.
"Thanks."
Shun took the towel and wiped the nonexistent sweat off his forehead.
"Why did you come out so early?" Kalifa asked. Shun still had about an hour until his part was supposed to be done.
"Hmm~ I didn't want to scare everyone."
"…"
"Also, I need to save my image as the saint. When I gave you that script, I was a bit frustrated."
'After all, it was right after Lucy called me for help against none other than Makarov's son. A small fry among small fries. Thanks to her, I missed a chance to get a decent power-up.'
Shun shook his head to shake off unnecessary thoughts. He had gotten what was probably a bit weaker, but still a Devil Fruit of the Devil himself.
"I didn't know you were that good at singing!" Suddenly a group of Marines led by a loudly laughing Garp approached.
To the somewhat proud-looking old generation, Shun's response was…
"What about sunrise? What about rain? What about all the things That you said we were to gain?"
"…"
"Ah-! I forgot to take it out." Shun said words that were hard for even his closest allies to understand.
"Huh?"
To their questioning looks, Shun didn't speak. Instead, he put his finger inside his mouth.
"!"
From there, he pulled out a strange, small device.
"Huh? Is that leftover food?"
"…"
Bonk-!
Sengoku silenced Garp's nonsense.
As the group looked at the tiny device in confusion… singing that resembled Shun's angelic voice from earlier was heard.
"Y-You brat… you must be kidding…" Sengoku felt betrayed once again.
"Decreasing size with the Less-Less Fruit worked better than I expected." Shun smirked, still wearing the sunglasses.
"Illusion and perception ability to make sure no one caught my lip-syncing. Lastly, the Calm-Calm Fruit to make sure no outside noise interrupted 'my' perfect singing." Shun let out a sigh. He had worked a bit too hard.
"…"
"Why…"
At this moment, even Akainu, who wasn't particularly close to Shun, shared the same thoughts as everyone else.
'Why go that far?!!'
——
"What should we do?" Shun asked Komurasaki and Yamato. As for everyone else…
Shun left the execution of the remaining Celestial Dragons that had been caught to the Marines. Meanwhile, Kalifa and Hibari would take responsibility for collecting treasures from every other family in the Holy Land.
'Except for the Seven Dwarves, the others wouldn't be trustworthy enough to help with the treasure collecting.'
The original script that a bit frustrated Shun had presented to Kalifa was that during the concert, while everyone performed their songs, the Celestial Dragons would be getting executed in the background.
'Now that I've calmed down… that was a bit too extreme to show on a global broadcast.'
"Should we go back to Wano?" Komurasaki suggested.
"Hmm~ Let's not do that."
"Eh?"
"After all, Kaido must be expecting a souvenir."
"…"
"Also, we should bring some to Black Maria and Ulti."
"Then… can we go on an adventure on the sea?" Suddenly Yamato said with an excited look.
"That's not a bad idea, but…"
'There's nothing fun to do on the sea. Having an adventure with my current strength is nearly impossible. One swat and an island would be destroyed.'
Even natural disasters could be solved with Shun's arsenal of skills.
"How about we go to the sky?"
"!"
POP-!
Without further explanation, Shun directly teleported them to what was previously Shiki's island.
——
"Welcome back~" Nojiko said with the servants Kalifa had hired standing behind her.
A few months ago, Shun had floated her entire island into the sky next to his own. It was all to protect her from the petty World Government schemes.
"It's been a while." Shun greeted back as Nojiko's stare grew dangerous.
"It's been nearly two weeks! I thought you forgot about me…" Nojiko said with a dramatic sigh, but she had been watching the broadcasts, so she knew Shun had been busy lately.
Shun tried to silence her by sealing her lips, but… the regular country girl somehow dodged the overwhelming dictator and greeted Yamato and Komurasaki.
"You two must be newcomers, right?"
"Eh?" X2
Perhaps a country girl could feel the aura of her fellow country girls.
"Let's enter the house~"
Nojiko smoothly chatted them up.
'…Is she the same case as Sorano? Since Nami has been gone for more than two years, she must be missing her little sister.'
The trio had a harmonious vibe around them as servants with peculiar small white wings prepared fruits and tea.
What interrupted that harmony and peace was…
"Yamato."
"Hmm?"
"Do you think you're strong?"
"!"
Yamato shut her eyes at Shun's casual remark.
"…No, not enough. To be Kozuki Oden and open Wano Country to the world, I need more power."
"…"
Yamato's words filled with determination silenced the room.
'I just wanted to spar a little with my new Devil Fruits, but… did I ask something bad?'
'Since Yamato is the third strongest woman in the world after Big Mom and Hancock, I thought we could have a spar…'
"…Grandma, tell everyone to go back to the village for today."
"Hmm? Yes…"
Kalifa had hired the villagers who had previously been under Shiki's dictatorship to take care of the massive house that resembled a castle.
Soon every servant went back home, celebrating their small luck of being able to leave work early. Their opinion of Shun was getting better and better.
"Yamato… no. Oden, come outside."
"!!"
The one surprised the most wasn't Yamato, but… Komurasaki.
'Can they stop speaking my father's name… It's my fault for hiding my identity, though.' While Komurasaki sighed, Shun and Yamato were already outside.
"Attack me with everything you've got. I'll be your training partner."
"!"
"…Is it really okay?"
"Yes. I'll help you train a little bit."
"Oh-!! Thank you!" Yamato said with excitement as she readied her club.
After spending some time with Yamato, Shun had summarized her personality and character.
'She's a female version of Luffy! Just a bit older and only a little bit smarter.'
"…Also, I want to awaken my Devil Fruits." Shun muttered softly, but it didn't escape their ears.
"This guy… the latter is obviously his goal." Nojiko told Komurasaki, despite not knowing what awakening a Devil Fruit even meant.
POP-!
"!"
As if hearing Nojiko's complaint, Shun sent a paw bubble toward them with the signature noise.
"…This bubble should be enough. It can tank a concentrated punch from a Sea Emperor once."
Shun shielded them just in case from stray damage. After all, they were just regular girls, even weaker than Nami.
"Are you ready?" Yamato asked with a wide smile.
"Yeah. Hmm?"
While Shun was looking away, Yamato had transformed into her Mythical Zoan wolf-like form.
'I was planning to tear off her clothes during the spar, but… I guess let's just practice today.' Shun sighed. Yamato's transformation wasn't up to his taste.
Swoosh-!
"Glacier Fang-!"
Suddenly, Yamato jumped above Shun and… she breathed out a devastating, high-pressure stream of freezing air and ice from her mouth.
Against the attack, Shun raised his palm and… chanted.
"…Less."
"!!!"
To Yamato, Komurasaki, and Nojiko's shock, the deadly roar was shrinking at a rapid pace until it disappeared without a trace.
"That… how is Yamato-san's attack? Uh? What is happening?"
"I don't know. Just Shun's shenanigans."
"…"
While Yamato was still shocked, Nojiko had already calmed down. She was already numb to Shun's power.
BAM-! BAM-!
Usually Shun got a convenient spectator who would explain and hype up the battle, but… today there were only two regular girls watching. On top of that, their eyes couldn't keep up with the battle.
——
Half an hour later…
'…She's stronger than I thought.' Shun praised her in his mind, but Yamato was on her knees. She couldn't understand what was happening.
'…Why am I this tired so easily…? No, it's not the exhaustion that's slowing my movement. He must've used an ability.'
Yamato deduced correctly. Shun had only used physical attacks and the newly acquired Less-Less Fruit in this fight.
'I can make her slower and weaker with the fruit ability, but…'
"Tsk."
Shun clicked his tongue in annoyance.
"…Seems like I can't awaken the Devil Fruit again."
"…"
'I want to be able to use this ability freely from a long distance without making physical contact. Also, I want…' Shun shook his head. He had great expectations for this ability.
"…Awakening it is the only way."
The spar finished soon. Yamato transformed back, and Komurasaki and Nojiko got out of the paw bubble shield space too.
"You were muttering a lot about awakening."
"Yeah, but there was no progress. I've never awakened a Devil Fruit on my own. I guess I just have no talent."
"…"
As a response to Shun's complaining, Nojiko held his hand.
"…I can't help you with that Devil Fruit awakening, but I can help you awaken a different thing~"
Nojiko winked.
Yamato and Komurasaki blushed as they watched the bold woman's offensive play. Until…
"Pfft-!"
Shun laughed.
"!"
This time, Nojiko joined the other two in blushing.
"You bastard! I was being considerate!"
Nojiko was embarrassed and furious. She had just gotten humiliated in front of her two new little sisters!
——
A week had passed since Shun left the Fairy Tail world so suddenly.
After visiting the Demon Slayer world briefly and getting threatened by Daki, Shun now appeared above his house, which had landed on land Ariel had given them.
'…Ariel is probably hoping that we'd stay in her kingdom forever with this gift.' Shun was amused by the new queen's antics as usual.
Since it was too much trouble, Shun didn't float Rudeus' house. So his family was staying in Shun's house.
Creak-!
Despite being a grand mansion gifted by the King of the Shirone Kingdom, lately it was quite crowded. At least that's what Shun believed, but…
"…Where's everyone?"
'Ah-! I forgot Aisha back in the Greed Island game. Well, she needs to be independent or she'll become a serious pervert.' Shun justified his own mistake smoothly.
"W-Welcome back!!" X2
A cat and a dog from the beastfolk race, the ones Hilda and her daughter loved so much, welcomed Shun.
"Hello~ Have you guys been good?"
"!!"
Shun just said it as a greeting, but the two jolted in shock at the word 'good.'
'….What are those two up to?'
"O-Of course!!" X2
Shun felt suspicious, but there was a more urgent situation.
"So, where's everyone?"
"L-Lady Hilda and Lady Lilia went shopping with the others." Linia informed him nervously, as if she was a new graduate taking an interview for her first job.
"Boss… no. Ex-boss's family said they have a surprise for Zenith. So they went to prepare it while Zenith is staying here."
'Zenith… who was that again?'
"Zenith is ex-boss's mother!" As if she read Shun's thoughts, Pursena shouted with a salute.
"Ah-! Thanks."
"Heh." Pursena smirked at Linia after being thanked.
'I guess she's a bit smarter than Linia. If Linia is level nineteen and a half, Pursena is level twenty…'
Shun was thinking very rude things inside.
"Where is Zenith?"
"She's taking a bath."
"In the morning?"
"Ah… she was teaching us how to do house chores and got a bit dirty." Linia admitted with an ashamed look.
"…"
'Seems like Aisha not being here is really a disaster for those two.'
"Would you like to eat breakfast?" Pursena asked nervously.
"Hmm… no. Just give me some cold water."
'After all, I don't believe in your ability to cook at all.'
"Yes!" X2
The two let out a sigh of relief after hearing that they didn't have to cook and went to prepare iced water.
"…"
'…I guess I won't be bored in this world with those two around.'
A few moments later…
Shun sat alone on the living room sofa drinking the icy cold water.
"Less. Cancel. Less. Cancel." Shun was practicing the Less-Less Fruit whenever he got the chance.
Currently he was decreasing the size of the table in front of him and returning it back to normal size, repeating the process for nearly ten minutes. Until a rare guest appeared fresh out of the shower.
"Um, hello."
"?"
"Ah-! Hello, Zenith."
"…"
Zenith felt rather awkward being called by her name by her son's friend. Still… she took a seat next to him.
"Less. Cancel…"
"…"
"Um, what are you doing?"
"Training a new ability."
"I see…"
Just like that, the conversation ended. Linia and Pursena had disappeared the moment they got the chance.
"What have you been up to lately?" Shun asked, despite not being bothered by the silence.
"Ah-! I was doing the chores, cooking, and taking care of the plants."
"Huh? Are those two not doing their jobs?"
Whom Shun was referring to was obvious.
"No. They do help, but… they slow me down."
"…"
'She's surprisingly cruel, huh?'
"What were you up to?" This time Zenith asked.
"Nothing much. Killing monsters and treasure hunting."
"!"
"That's amazing!" Zenith smiled as she reminisced about her adventurer days.
Surprisingly, the two hit it off as they continued talking for half an hour until Zenith decided to check on the plants.
'So she likes gardening, huh?' Shun thought, and that was it. He wasn't interested at all in becoming Rudeus' father.
…At this moment, Shun didn't know that this situation of being alone with Zenith in the house would cause him quite strange and annoying problems…
…It started right after Zenith left the living room to water the plants.
"HEEELP-!" A rather awkward scream for help echoed through the house.
"What?"
Shun's instinct, developed after absorbing an overwhelming amount of Observation Haki, didn't give off any warning, so he just leisurely walked toward the owner of the voice.
There he witnessed… a buttock stuck in a strange hole in the wall.
"Huh? Are you Zenith?"
"!"
"Yes… I'm stuck…"
'I left you alone for five minutes…'
"Ah-! Can you call Linia or Pursena to help me get out of this hole?" Zenith's buttock was speaking to Shun as her other half was on the other side of the wall.
"…"
"Why is there even a hole in this wall? Also, why are you stuck there?"
"…I don't know. There was a strange blanket taped against the wall, so I removed it and found the hole."
"I see… so why would you try to enter that hole?"
"Because… I thought I would fit…" Zenith said timidly.
'…Even if one could fit a hole, would they try to enter that random hole? Is she the type of person that likes cave diving?'
"So…"
"Enough questions! Pull me out of here!" Zenith's mom anger came out as she scolded Shun.
"Yes, yes…"
'This hole… so this must be the reason those two were so nervous. They fought and created a hole and tried to hide it…' Shun was amused. He didn't care about the house being broken at all.
'I guess I'm partly responsible for taking Aisha away.'
He just decided to get her out and take a nap until the others came back, but… he met an unexpected problem.
"Where should I grab?"
At Shun's question, Zenith's body jolted as she remembered.
"Um… can you call Linia or Pursena?"
"No. They left the house. Apparently they'll help carry the groceries for Hilda and Lilia."
"…"
Seeing her turn silent, Shun offered.
"Should I just break the wall?"
"No. I can't trouble you like that. I'll get out of here on my own." Zenith said with the same determination as a hero in the fairy tales going to fight the Demon King.
Then… her buttock and legs started flailing around aggressively.
"…"
"Haa-! Haa-!"
Not even a minute later, Zenith was exhausted.
Seeing her determination and effort, Shun couldn't tell her that he was the user of Arc of Time. So he just watched her flail around for five minutes.
"Um… can you pull me by my feet?"
"…Okay."
Since the hero herself said it, Shun grabbed both of her feet. And… he pulled!
"Ugh-! Mmh-! Just a bit more!!"
"…"
As Zenith was making rather suggestive noises, Shun, who was pulling her from her feet, thought.
'…There's a danger that could one-shot me in a year, but… what am I doing here?'
"Haa-! Haa-! Let's rest for a bit, but I can tell we're almost there." Zenith said with her behind still facing Shun.
"Ah, okay."
——
A few moments later…
"One. Two. One. Two."
The two were still at it. It was slow, but they were definitely making progress.
Shun couldn't put any strength into the pulling. After all, humans were fragile. On top of that, Zenith was determined to defeat the wall herself.
"!!"
"Shun-san!"
"Yeah!"
The two could tell… they were there!
Flop-!
With a strange noise, Zenith got out of the disaster of being stuck in a wall of her savior's house.
"Kya-!"
Due to the momentum of suddenly getting out, Shun fell backward while Zenith fell on top of Shun's body with her buttock settled on Shun's face.
They ended up in the ouroboros position by accident.
"…"
'…Smells like Lilia. Seems like she's been using our soap lately.'
While Shun was thinking strange things…
"Surprise!!"
Rudeus and his family came back with their surprise for Zenith.
"…"
'…Is this the thing called fate?' Shun thought as he looked back at Rudeus' family and their surprise.
Surprise… aka Paul Greyrat.
——
'What the hell is happening here?!' Rudeus was flabbergasted, but he instantly calmed down.
His reasoning was… 'They're still clothed!'
After Shun told him to gather reliable allies for Ariel, Rudeus started searching.
By coincidence, during that search, he found out his father was nearby. So he and his three wives went to prepare a surprise for Zenith. She still hadn't met her husband since the teleportation disaster.
Thud-!
"!"
In the silent room, the sound of something falling to the floor woke Rudeus from his shock.
What fell was a bouquet of flowers, carried by his very own father, who had been warned not to antagonize Shun because he had saved Zenith and even taken her curse off.
Shing-!
"!"
It was the sound of someone unsheathing their sword.
"Wait! They're still clothed!" Rudeus shouted in a hurry, but…
It happened in an instant.
Swoosh-!
Paul Greyrat had unsheathed his sword and sprinted toward Shun.
He swung toward Shun's head without hesitation.
'…Is this bastard crazy?'
Currently Zenith was still on top of him as everything was happening too fast.
"Paul, don't!!" Zenith screamed belatedly, but it was still too late. Shun stood up and shielded her with his own body.
Drip-!
"!!"
To Rudeus' shock, Paul's sword connected with Shun's eyes as blood dripped down Shun's face.
'…It's not a good sign. If Shun-san is letting someone's attack land on his body…' Rudeus felt goosebumps remembering Luke Notos Greyrat's fate.
Rudeus didn't have to feel nervous for long. Shun raised his palm toward Paul with a smirk.
"Less…"
Shun was about to show the results of his training, but… someone beat him to it.
Swoosh-!
Clang-!
"You bastard!"
Eris' sword clashed with Paul's for a moment, but the next moment Paul got kicked in the stomach. The impact of the kick was so strong that it sent Paul into the wall that Zenith and Shun had worked so hard to overcome.
Crash-!
"…"
"How dare you!!"
BAM-! BAM-!
Without missing a beat, Eris ran after him, sat on Paul's chest, and started pummeling him.
No one spoke. The only sound was Eris beating up Paul.
"E-Eris-san, please calm down." Roxy, the newest wife, tried to stop Eris, but she wasn't the physical type.
'Nice one, Eris!' Rudeus knew Eris wasn't doing it to prevent Shun from acting, but he was glad regardless.
'The result is everything!'
With that, Rudeus stole a glance toward Shun, who was staring back at him with a bloodied face.
After a momentary silence, Shun spoke.
"…You're quite good at surprises."
"…"